Return of a rival
by Naoki Ichigo
Summary: A new event was added to the program of the All Star Weekend, during this event Han Wenqing meets an old rival.


When someone had asked Han Wenqing about his honest opinion on the fact that he was voted into the All Star Weekend every year, he would have admitted that he was surprised by his own popularity. However, it wasn't that surprising when thinking about it logically. Han Wenqing was one of the best pro players out there and the oldest active one. With his team he had won multiple championships and there were more ahead. It might be true that he was not the most handsome player and his appearance was more frightening than anything – who had thought that a pro player actually would look like a boxer? Weren't gamers supposed to look like a sack of potatoes? Shouldn't gamers smell like unwashed sport socks, despite not doing any? Weren't gamers those people that never got outside, wore glasses and spoke a different language than the rest of humanity? Weren't gamers supposed to be some losers to laugh at? How dared he betrayal those ridiculous prejudices! And he wasn't the only one, for example there were Zhou Zekai, who looked like a model, Huang Shaotian, who was too hyperactive for his own good or Yu Wenzhou, who could give a very deep analyzes of a person only with a few indications. Even worse, all of them were at the top!  
Han Wenqing was tall and muscular. With his constant frown upon his face, he looked more like a member of a street gang or the mafia – people were intimated by him. Still his fans loved him. Such a man was perfect for the position of captain, perfect to be team Tyranny's captain and ace! His appearance represented the style of team Tyranny and it fitted the club's name – rumors had it that Han Wenqing even was the reason, why the club decided for this name in the first place. The same applied for Han Wenqing's avatar that he used in the professional Alliance: Desert Dust. A striker, who used his terrifying strength to destroy his opponents, to crush them into submission, to subdue them! Desert Dust was Han Wenqing in game format! Or was Han Wenqing Desert Dust in real life format? Whatever, the majority of Tyranny fans liked him for what he was! Some even took pride in it.  
In the end, no one dared to ask Han Wenqing about his honest opinion on the fact that he was voted into the All Star Weekend every year, so he hadn't had to admit that he was surprised by his own popularity. When he received the invitation from the Alliance he simply showed up at the event, went through with whatever had been planned for him in those two days and afterwards he would just leave and go back to training. This was probably the case for all the pro players and if not, Wenqing did not care.

This year the All Star Weekend was held by team Tyranny, thus in their home stadium. The event may be made up by the Alliance, however it was the responsibility of the clubs to organize them. Every year a different team was responsible for the weekend and of course tried to promote their team – and make as much money out of it as possible. Also, since the event was held in the home stadium of the team, most of the fans visiting were fans of the team, which held the event.  
This year the Alliance had thought up something new and stupid – according to Wenqing's opinion and he probably wasn't the only one with that thought. During the event fans had the opportunity to fight alongside their idols or even against them. However, this was only possible when said fan was inside the stadium. Those who were not lucky enough to get a ticket or didn't have time or money to come, would not be able to do so. For the first time all pro player, who were voted into the All Star Weekend, would fight one round in the arena against a random player, who wasn't able to make it to the event. Those who wanted to get this chance had to register beforehand and would receive the name and password for the arena. However, only one of them would be able to fight against their idol, the other ones had to fight their fellow unfortunate souls. The fight itself of course would be broadcasted in the stadium and during the fight – differently than in official matches – it was allowed to talk with each other. When the fans faced their idols in the stadium they had the opportunity to exchange a few words with them, to give this opportunity to the other fans as well, not only was it possible to talk during the fight, but after being defeated one still had the chance of writing in the chat and talking. This was only possible for short amount of time, since no one wanted the conversation to be dragged on forever – but there was no official time limit set, so theoretically the conversation could drag on forever. Whether it would work out the way the Alliance wanted, was up to find out now. The pro players themselves did not care much about it. They would do their job, nothing more, nothing less. And if their job required them to play against fans, they would do so. If they had to chat with them for a few lines, they simply would do so. Keeping a good relationship with their fans was important for the players, since those fans determined their popularity and therewith how interesting they were for sponsors. Sponsors meant money and money was what the club wanted and needed, because in the end even an esports club was a business and such could only operate when having enough money. Furthermore, fans were often part of the club's guilds. The in-game guild was important for the club, since they provided them with items and materials, which were needed for the different silver equipment of the avatars. Also they were responsible for finding new talents and advertise the clubs. No one would dare to endanger their own guild!

Han Wenqing was someone, who never hold back. While the other pro players would not give it their all, when fighting their fans or the rookies, he would go all out and crush them! If the other side was too weak to handle him, than it was simply that way and it wasn't his duty to comfort the other one – it wasn't his problem. Also it should be obvious that a normal player stood no chance against a god like Han Wenqing! So why playing pretend and wasting everyone's time with a prolonged fight? The fight wouldn't be interesting or nice to look at. Maybe that was the reason, why barely anyone choose him during the rookies challenge? Only fans would chose him, since they only wanted to interact with him – to brag about it later on. Yet, it was more interesting and challenging to fight against the rookies, who had a more realistic chance of holding on or even winning, than those fans. Fighting fans was like running a race against a snail: the outcome was already clear before the race had even started.  
Without a word and a stoic face, Wenqing sat down in the chair in front of the computer that was provided for this event – without a computer playing Glory was a little bit impossible. The host spoke a few words and explained what was about to happen next and the rules for this competition. He knew all about it already, so he did not pay attention. Instead he prepared Desert Dust, although there was nothing to prepare for. The person, who knew Desert Dust the best, was without a doubt himself – everything else would be quite strange, since he had been the one who had created and leveled Desert Dust up from the start. Also until now Desert Dust had never switched players – again, something else would have been strange.  
On stage the host moved away to give space to the soon appearing holographic images of the Glory characters. A countdown was shown on the big screen in the back, indicating how long it would take until the challenge started. During this countdown the people, who had registered for this part of the All Star Weekend logged in and entered their assigned arena, hoping to find Desert Dust waiting there for them. Only one person would be lucky enough to face him! And everyone wanted to be that one luck person!

As soon as the countdown hit zero, a field was projected on the stage revealing Desert Dust and his opponent. On the right side stood Desert Dust, just as unmoving and stern as his owner. On the left side was a Battle Mage named One Autumn Leaf, completely dressed in black. Awkwardly the host tried to introduce the other side, but there was nothing he could say. Everyone here was a fan of Glory, thus was familiar with the different classes, and one could be certain that everyone here was able to read the avatar's name. There were no other information on the player. Luckily the host hadn't had to say much anyway, since the countdown for the fight had already started. The first one was for the event to start, the second one was for the fight to start.  
Professional players had to know all classes by heart, so of course Han Wenqing would identify the other one as Battle Mage. Also he was one of those people that were able to read – hell, he was even one of those that were able to write!  
Battle Mage, One Autumn Leaf.  
A flood of emotions and memories descended upon him. He knew the other avatar! During the first server, during the time before the professional Alliance had been established, he and One Autumn Leaf had been rivals. Both of them had had a perfect win record in the arena. Desert Dust had been in the lead, but this didn't mean much. It was simply that he played more often or used more time in the arena than One Autumn Leaf had. It was only the first month, since Glory had been lunched, but Desert Dust was already a widely known name and wherever he went, people would follow or challenge him. Desert Dust on the other hand was only in search for One Autumn Leaf, who he had hoped to encounter in the arena. Who would have thought that they would meet each other in front of a city on the open map of Glory? Han Wenqing hadn't and had Desert Dust walk over to the Battle Mage, who was in company with a sharpshooter called Autumn Tree, immediately. Due to his personality he had called out to the other one and challenged him to a duel. This duel was accepted without any hesitation and would mark the day Desert Dust lost his perfect win record. Afterwards they would fight each other more often. Sometimes in the arena, but most of the time on the open map, although such fights were more challenging, since the sharpshooter provided perfect backup for One Autumn Leaf. This duo was without a doubt the most annoying and terrifying duo Han Wenqing had ever encountered.  
Nowadays, it wasn't uncommon for teams in the pro scene to have a double core. The most praised ones were Blue Rain's Curse and Sword, Swoksaar and Troubling Rain, followed by team Void's Ghostbalde duo. However, compared to Autumn Tree and One Autumn Leaf they were nothing! How would things be, if those two had joint the Alliance back then? Why hadn't they joint? They must have gotten an offer to join a newly formed team! They had been part of the guild Excellent Dynasty, which belong to the pro team Excellent Era, so why were they not part of team Excellent Era? It didn't make any sense. On the other hand, Han Wenqing did not really care that much anymore. He had waited three years until he decided to give up on the chance for those two to enter the pro scene. Of course, he had thought about the possibility that they were too young to join a team for now – one had to be at least eighteen, back then – but the rules had changed. The rules had change, but not the fact that neither One Autumn Leaf nor Autumn Tree had joint the pro scene.  
Wenqing couldn't descript what he was feeling right now. He felt disappointed, betrayed, angry, annoyed, confused. At the same time he also felt nothing. One Autumn Leaf was just another opponent he had to crush.

The countdown hit zero once more and the fight started. Or was supposed to start. Neither Desert Dust nor One Autumn Leaf made a move. Normally Wenqing would be the first to make a move. He always charged in without hesitation, but this time he was still a bit paralyzed by what he saw. One Autumn Leaf, on the other hand, didn't move, because he was expecting the other side to do so.  
Luckily, Han Wenqing snapped out of his stiffness and started attacking, only to be welcomed by dodges and counterattacks. The first time this part of the event was held, a true challenge had arrived. A challenge greater than those against the rookies. The organizers of this year's All Star Weekend had been extremely worried about this point in the program. They had thought about all the possible scenarios, especially had they went through all those that could be considered bad – and their thoughts had lingered on the worst case scenarios. Yet, it seemed like everything was playing out beautifully! One Autumn Leaf seemed to have quite some skills. Not only was he able to dodge many of Desert Dust's attacks, he also reduced the latter one health slowly but steadily. None of them was in the lead for long. As soon as one of them lost a bit of their heath the other one would lose some as well shortly after. No one had even ever dreamt that a fan versus pro player would be that intense, so interesting and uncertain. Who would win? Was it even possible for a pro player to lose against a normal player? Was One Autumn Leaf a normal player?  
Besides meeting and fighting against your idol, one could also use this event to show off one's skills. Obviously no one had thought about this possibility until now. How likely was it that the person, who wanted to show off, was selected to be the one to fight against the pro player? How likely was it that they were able to really show their skills? How likely was it that someone truly thought about using this event as opportunity to be discovered by the clubs? Wasn't it safer to present astonishing achievements in the game and be discovered by the guilds than to rely on the All Star Weekend?  
Well, things were like this now and it wasn't bad. The fans were excited and even the other pro players had their fun, watching Han Wenqing struggling against his opponent. Some brat even mocked Wenqing openly, although the latter one couldn't hear it and the rest only shook their heads about the other one's words.

Desert Dust's and One Autumn Leaf's health dropped and dropped and dropped. Soon this fight would come to an end. By now everyone was certain that One Autumn Leaf's weapon was self-made. Self-made weapons, also known as silver weapons, weren't uncommon in the pro scene, but it was rather unusual for a normal player to have one. To create a silver weapon – or any kind of silver equipment – a lot of materials, especially rare materials, were needed. The clubs got those material through their guild, but a normal player most likely only had himself to rely on. Also it was mostly the guilds that got the first kills and dungeon records, which included the rare rewards for those achievements. Besides the material issue, there also was the problem of studying the materials and figuring out, how to put them together to get the wanted result. It was already hard for the big clubs to do that, so how hard must it be for a normal player without any back up – however, they didn't know whether One Autumn Leaf had any back up or not, it was just something they assumed.  
Despite the so called god level avatars being mostly from the first serve, it was only Han Wenqing and Desert Dust that were still together and remembered the times back then. Only Han Wenqing knew about One Autumn Leaf's in-game background – unfortunately, he did not know what had happened between now and then. Before the clubs were established it was easier for an individual to gain rare materials. Although since then the game had multiple updates, with a good foundation it was still possible to get around. Also being in Glory since the day it was lunched, one had many connections. One Autumn Leaf probably relied on those connections to get some materials.  
Maybe the player behind the Battle Mage had alternative accounts to get what he wanted and needed.  
The people in the audience cheered louder and louder for the favorites. Tyranny fans of course cheered for their captain, not caring that said person couldn't hear them – it was better that way, since it would be quite distracting, when he would be able to hear the cheers of his club's fans. Funnily, One Autumn Leaf also had some fans. Probably all those, who disliked team Tyranny or Han Wenqing himself. Huang Shaotian cheered for One Autumn Leaf. Not because he disliked team Tyranny or Han Wenqing – they may be opponents on stage, but apart from that he had no special feelings towards Tyranny or Wenqing -, but because he thought it would be great to see a god be defeated by a normal player. Wouldn't this be something for history? And he would be part of that history as a witness. Also it would probably be the best day of that fan's life, when he or maybe even she won against a pro player, against their idol. Well, it really would be something for history, if One Autumn Leaf's player really would be a normal one, but Wenqing knew better than this. The other one was a sly fox with impressive hand speed mixed together with great knowledge over the game. A terrifying opponent! There was a reason, why Wenqing had considered the other one as his rival back then.

When the fight ended, half of the stadium erupted into loud cheers, while the other half was dead silent. Shaotian would have probably been the one, who cheered the loudest, if his friend and captain Yu Wenzhou hadn't pulled him back into his seat, which earned the latter one a gaze from Wang Jiexi, who was so lucky to sit next to Huang Shaotian as well. Wang Jiexi's gaze was a silent ask, whether the other one needed some help to get Shaotian down or if everything was fine and under control. Zhou Zekai was the complete opposite of Shaotian. He silently starred at the avatars. His lips curled up thinking about, how it would be to fight against One Autumn Leaf. A brat mocked Han Wenqing even louder, but was still ignored. The second-hand embarrassment was too strong.  
For Han Wenqing and his opponent was now the time to exchange a few words. During the fight none of them had uttered a single word and now that the fight was other no one was saying anything either. Wenqing should probably praise the other one, but what should One Autumn Leaf do? Comfort a pro player? Pro players were used to losing. It was something that had happened to all of them. This was how a competition worked. One side lost, while the other side won. There was no need to comfort them. Also, what should he say? Whatever he would say, it would come out wrong.  
Instead of saying something Wenqing only stared at the screen in front of him. The outcome did not shock him, but he also hadn't expected it. This fight had reminded him of the first time he had fought against One Autumn Leaf. Back then he had dropped a weapon, which he had won in the arena. Although One Autumn Leaf had offered the weapon back, he hadn't taken it. Maybe because he had been too proud? Maybe because he had thought it was useless to keep a weapon with which he had lost? Maybe he didn't want to be indebted to the other one? Maybe he simply hadn't cared at all about it? Afterwards they often fight in- and outside of the arena. They had added each other as friends, so whenever he saw that One Autumn Leaf was online, he would immediately send him a message. Often he had wondered, what kind of person One Autumn Leaf's player was. It seemed like he and Autumn Tree were online the whole day. But who had time to spend their whole day gaming?

"Coward", was what Wenqing wanted to throw at One Autumn Leaf, but didn't do.  
Instead he shouted: "Wait!"  
Although the Alliance only wanted to give the fan and the pro player a short amount of time to have a small chit-chat after the fight, they never specified how long this time was. Also one wouldn't be thrown out of the arena or cut off. Therefore, the conversation could go on as long as the two participants wanted. Since this was an event for fans to interact with their idol, everyone had feared that the fan might drag the conversation out, but no one had thought of the possibility that the fan wasn't a fan and couldn't care less about talking to one of the god like players. No one knew, expect for Han Wenqing and the person behind One Autumn Leaf.  
The stadium had turned silent. Wenqing's shout had startled the audience, but instead of saying more he stayed silent, just like the rest, who were present. Shouldn't he say something? Some were expecting him to accuse the other side of cheating or at least demanding a rematch, because he hadn't given his all. However, everyone who had paid even a little bit of attention to team Tyranny's captain, would know that he was far away from being a sour loser. No team was without loses, no player was without loses. Never had Han Wenqing cared much about it. If he lost, it meant he hadn't been good enough. It was his own fault and he had to get better. One could only get better, when facing one's own failures and mistakes. There was no reason to act out.  
There was no response from One Autumn Leaf, who still stood unmoving at the spot in front of the defeated Desert Dust.  
"You're back", Wenqing said with some uncertainty in his voice.  
Was the other one really back or was he just here for fun? Maybe had a little bit too much free time at hand right now and didn't know how to use it? Or had One Autumn Leaf even switched players? Not only in the pro scene characters were traded or received new players, due to the former player either retiring or transferring, sometimes normal players would give their accounts to friends or relatives. Some did so, because they lost interest in Glory and instead of throwing the account card away, gave it to someone, who wanted it. Some did so, because they wanted to start with a new account and didn't care about their old one anymore. Furthermore, there was the possibility that the account was only lent to someone else. If One Autumn Leaf's creator, for example, had a good friend, who wanted to play as Battle Mage or wanted to use a strong avatar in this event, it might be that One Autumn Leaf's creator had lent his account to said friend, hence the person playing wasn't the person Han Wenqing had considered his rival many years ago. This thought, however, did not linger for long on his mind. People were different and had their own fighting style. Wenqing had recognized the fighting style of his opponent, thus was certain that the other one was the same person, as back then. Somehow it felt strange to know this. It was strange to see such an old rival again. Even stranger to talk to said rival. They had grown up since then and a lot had happened. Did the other side recognize Desert Dust?  
"Yeah, I am back", One Autumn Leaf suddenly replied before leaving the arena.

In the following season One Autumn Leaf defeated Desert Dust during the rookie challenge and snatched away the trophy from the well-established powerhouses with his team full of rookies. The re-established rivalry between Desert Dust and One Autumn Leaf became a thrilling and highly looked forward to aspect of the Alliance.

One Autumn Leaf was back to Glory and he wanted it all!


End file.
